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Tom Steyer Steps Into the Presidential Clown Car

I received this email from Tom Steyer's propaganda arm, Nextgen America with this subject line:

Why I’m running for president

Oh goody. Now we have another rich asshole who will tell us plebs that we aren't allowed to have nice things because those nice things will cut into the profits of the Capitalist Politburo.

The automated email begins thusly:

Friend,

Six years ago, I founded NextGen Climate to disrupt a political system that was complacent. Together, we’ve worked to fight climate change by advancing the transition to a clean energy economy. We’ve fought to halt the Keystone XL pipeline and registered more than a million voters nationwide. I couldn’t be more proud of this team, and I’m so glad to be able to share my next steps with you.

Funny, despite any efforts from actual grassroots resistance, Obama and his goons still shoved Keystone XL up America's collective ass, with environmental destruction as far as the eye can see.

A November 2017 Keystone pipeline oil spill in rural South Dakota was twice as large as originally believed, making it the seventh largest oil spill on U.S. soil since 2010.

Robyn Tysver, a spokesperson for pipeline owner and Calgary-based TransCanada, told the Aberdeen American News that the Nov. 16 leak near Amherst resulted in the release of some 9,770 barrels, or 410,340 million gallons, of crude oil onto farmland. Original estimates put the spill at 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons.

When the leak was detected, the company shut down the pipeline that transports 590,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada's oil fields to refineries some 2,600 miles away in Illinois and Oklahoma, via the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. The pipeline was reopened less than two weeks later.

No worries, though. I'm sure Steyer and his rich friends will find some way to make money off it in the vein of "charity".

But the email gets even better than that:

Today, I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States — and our campaign will be one about the values that you and I share. I hope you’ll join me over the next few weeks as I work to bring our values and our voices to the debate stage.

What’s preventing us from addressing the challenges facing our country isn't our differences, but our broken politics. Until we reform the system and get rid of corporate money, we won’t be able to address climate change, make our economy more just and fair, or make health care affordable and accessible.

Poetic, but bullshit. What's preventing us from addressing the challenges facing our country, and by extension, the world, is the fact that you and fellow members of your class are simply looking for ways and means that allow you to continue to leech off workers, especially in the Global South, even if it means the shit hits the global fan in the process. Meanwhile, you also keep workers here fighting amongst themselves for ever-shrinking table scraps. And don't even get me started on how you SOBs view people with disabilities when the cameras aren't rolling.

Tell me this, Tom, do you intend to:

End US imperialism and drastically reduce military spending, fully funding the VA making sure the military is dedicated to actual defense, including slowing down or halting eco destruction?

Implement a true Single Payer system or a National Health Service, ending private insurance and pharmaceutical companies?

Strike down all Right to Work laws that strip local unions of any bargaining power, only allowing the Company Unions to exist for propaganda purposes?

For me, it's mostly that Warren backed Clinton instead of Bernie last time around. It makes you wonder if she believes that Clinton was actually better (in which case Warren is ignorant) or whether she was just using it as a power play to get into a Clinton cabinet (in which case her actions may have cost Bernie his chance to upend the system--Warren could have thrown her weight behind Bernie at a critical point in the primaries and it might have changed the outcome in some states). Either way, it is not the action that is needed to save peoples lives, tackle climate change, etc.

I do think Warren would be tough on banks--she has shown action on this in the past, so I have no real reason to doubt her. However, she is one I *might* vote for--if she can convince me to--if Tulsi or Bernie are not the nominee. I give her about a 30% chance. Maybe 40% because the Green Party nominee seems to not be great this time around. And, I'd much prefer her to Trump.

For me, it's mostly that Warren backed Clinton instead of Bernie last time around. It makes you wonder if she believes that Clinton was actually better (in which case Warren is ignorant) or whether she was just using it as a power play to get into a Clinton cabinet (in which case her actions may have cost Bernie his chance to upend the system--Warren could have thrown her weight behind Bernie at a critical point in the primaries and it might have changed the outcome in some states). Either way, it is not the action that is needed to save peoples lives, tackle climate change, etc.

I do think Warren would be tough on banks--she has shown action on this in the past, so I have no real reason to doubt her. However, she is one I *might* vote for--if she can convince me to--if Tulsi or Bernie are not the nominee. I give her about a 30% chance. Maybe 40% because the Green Party nominee seems to not be great this time around. And, I'd much prefer her to Trump.

For me, it's mostly that Warren backed Clinton instead of Bernie last time around. It makes you wonder if she believes that Clinton was actually better (in which case Warren is ignorant) or whether she was just using it as a power play to get into a Clinton cabinet (in which case her actions may have cost Bernie his chance to upend the system--Warren could have thrown her weight behind Bernie at a critical point in the primaries and it might have changed the outcome in some states). Either way, it is not the action that is needed to save peoples lives, tackle climate change, etc.

I do think Warren would be tough on banks--she has shown action on this in the past, so I have no real reason to doubt her. However, she is one I *might* vote for--if she can convince me to--if Tulsi or Bernie are not the nominee. I give her about a 30% chance. Maybe 40% because the Green Party nominee seems to not be great this time around. And, I'd much prefer her to Trump.

7. She stood and applauded Trump when he said this country would never ever be socialist. She touts that she is a “capitalist to her bones”.

8. She was a conservative Republican until 1997.

9. She is pro Israel and never met a sanction or a war she didn’t support.

10. She voted yes on giving Trump’s bloated military an extra 60 bn above what was asked for. She actually proposed giving the military billions to clean up the environment. She called it a Green New Military.

11. She does not support M4A. She has changed positions on this at least 10 times. Waffle, Waffle

12. She proposes to CAP Rx costs at $500/month. How many can afford that, and if she supposedly now supports M4A, why does she need this?

13. She does not support eliminating student debt. She wants to cap it at 50K still leaving the balance of these predatory and non- dischargeable debts in place.

15. She’s a means tester. There are always “unworthiness” who should not benefit in everything she proposes.

16. She co-opted, “I have a plan” from Hillary, and she ripped off Bernie’s agenda.

17. She and her campaign sound more like Oprah’s “you get a car, she gets a car, everyone gets a car” show than a well thought out plan for the people and country like Bernie’s does.

18. She is splitting the progressive vote and undermining the cause, and she doesn’t care.

19. She is deceitful. She has PAC money in her fund raising numbers because she carried in a large sum from her Senate campaign.

20. She has zero cross over appeal and will lose MI and the rust belt to Trump. The Hillary crowd loves her. She has a vagina.

@dkmich
At making a lot of noise about her proposals that she knows damned well have zero chance of becoming actual law, thus covering her "failure" to get said proposals into law. Many of them do that as well of course but I don't think that we should let any of them get away with it, it's how we got here after all.

7. She stood and applauded Trump when he said this country would never ever be socialist. She touts that she is a “capitalist to her bones”.

8. She was a conservative Republican until 1997.

9. She is pro Israel and never met a sanction or a war she didn’t support.

10. She voted yes on giving Trump’s bloated military an extra 60 bn above what was asked for. She actually proposed giving the military billions to clean up the environment. She called it a Green New Military.

11. She does not support M4A. She has changed positions on this at least 10 times. Waffle, Waffle

12. She proposes to CAP Rx costs at $500/month. How many can afford that, and if she supposedly now supports M4A, why does she need this?

13. She does not support eliminating student debt. She wants to cap it at 50K still leaving the balance of these predatory and non- dischargeable debts in place.

15. She’s a means tester. There are always “unworthiness” who should not benefit in everything she proposes.

16. She co-opted, “I have a plan” from Hillary, and she ripped off Bernie’s agenda.

17. She and her campaign sound more like Oprah’s “you get a car, she gets a car, everyone gets a car” show than a well thought out plan for the people and country like Bernie’s does.

18. She is splitting the progressive vote and undermining the cause, and she doesn’t care.

19. She is deceitful. She has PAC money in her fund raising numbers because she carried in a large sum from her Senate campaign.

20. She has zero cross over appeal and will lose MI and the rust belt to Trump. The Hillary crowd loves her. She has a vagina.

"She has a plan for all that ails the country, but where was her plans back when the democrats had a chance to pass them? She was a republican for 50 years, but just one day she decided to be a democrat and run for congress? Has she ever explained how this happened? Might have been when the bankruptcy bill passed. She gave Hillary lots of crap for her vote on it and some of the other issues Hillary liked, but when she had the time to really show us how she felt about Hillary's long time voting against our interests she backed her instead of Bernie. Lots of people love Liz because she says mean things to the banks, but has anything come from her speeches?

Bottom line for me is that Liz is running on some good ideas, but only Bernie has the history of being consistent on his.

#1.1.2 At making a lot of noise about her proposals that she knows damned well have zero chance of becoming actual law, thus covering her "failure" to get said proposals into law. Many of them do that as well of course but I don't think that we should let any of them get away with it, it's how we got here after all.

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America is a pathetic nation; a fascist state fueled by the greed, malice, and stupidity of her own people.
- strife delivery